Construction of reduced mass and simplified structures that efficiently perform all of the functions that traditional concrete, masonry, or structural steel buildings perform has long been a goal in building sciences. Mass reduction saves foundation costs, reduces the horizontal loads due to seismic events, and generally decreases the amount of materials required per unit of construction.
Use of spaced load bearing elements for walls can greatly reduce the mass of the structure and has been developed for wood framing to five stories and light steel stud framing to eight stories. Platform framing details for wood frame buildings over two stories can create excessive shrinkage over the height of the building and cause, among other things, high long term repair costs and undesirable cracking. Light steel framed buildings have heretofore been limited by the load capacity of joist end details over the bearing walls and by the complexity and cost of such details.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,918,897 and 5,048,257 describe methods of attaining a continuous diaphragm slab and tensioned diagonal strap horizontal load resisting elements. These patents do not resolve the problems of end bearing complexity that limit building heights nor do they address the use of continuous diaphragms and tensioned straps in wood frame structures.
In pre-cast concrete wall bearing structures, the floor structure must be placed over the pre-cast concrete wall and have a bearing surface thereon that is perfectly smooth, has a steel plate or grouped tie bar connection, and must be placed before the next level of walls is erected. The resultant structure is very heavy and often has connections that are difficult to conceal or has very labor intensive grouped connections.